Display apparatus



May 6 1924.

J. E. TALLEY ET AL DI SPLAY APPARATU S 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 12 "1920 :s sheets-sheet 2 l l III/h J. E. TALLEY ET AL DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed May 12 May e, 1924.`

May e 1924. 1,492,944

J. E. TALLEY ET AL Y DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed May l2 1920 3A SheetsfSheet Patented May 6, 1924.

A UNITED STATES JoHN'E. TALLEY AND JOHN W. THOMPSON, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

DISPLAY APPARATUS.

Application led May 12,

To all whom t may concern.'

' Be it known that we, JOHN E. TALLEY and JOHN I/VILMERTHOMPSON, citizens of the United States, and residents of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Display Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to merchandise display structures, which may or may not be enclosed in suitable cabinets, and which are designed for use in retail stores, as well as sales-rooms and the like.

The object of our present invention is to improve certain details of construction in devices of this kind, and our present improvements involve more particularly spe'- cial forms of rotatable, supporting means. In one instance these supporting means may be carried by a traveling carriage `and be rotatable with respect to the carriage, and this may be adapted to suitable tracks which may be mounted in the top of a cabinet or disposed in the base of the same, as is'desired. The carriage may be provided with a rod or standard which may be rotatable as a whole and carry suitable vsupports in the form of radially disposedarms, or the standard may be fixed and the radially disposed arms may be rotatable with respect thereto.

Additionally our improvements adapted for use with movable display devices having a vertical standard which may be employed independently of an enclosing cabinet; such standard being'provided with arms for the support of muls or similar articles of merchandise. A further object of our invention is to provide various forms of telescopic arms adjustably carriedby the standard whereby the amount of support afforded by the arms may be varied as desired.

The rotatable element of our improve display apparatus may be in the torm'of an enclosing tube mounted on a fixed rod so that the radially disposedsupporting members carried by such tube may rotate therewith as a single unit, or rotatable members may be carried by ball-bearing collars supported at intervals length of thev tube or the standard upon which the same are mounted, or the ballbearing collars may carry the radially disposed supporting means.

These and other features of our inven- 'details of construction "our Invention'.4 Y One Important feature of 'our 'invention' are 1920. Serial No. 380,713.

tion, more fully described hereinafter, are indicated upon thel accompanying drawings, of which:

Figure l, is a sectional elevation of a merchandise display cabinety showing a traveling and rotatable supporting structure embodying' our invention. V

Fig. 2 is a similar sectional view illustrating vanother "form ot' traveling and rotata'ble structure within the scope 'of our! invention.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged' sectional viewl illustrat-ing details of the structure shownl in Figure l.

Figs. 4, 5 and Gare sectional views illus- ',tiating detailsof the structure shown `in -Figure 2.' 'i

Fig. 7 shows a portable stand embodying 'features of our invention. u

1g, 8 'is' a sectional' view, partly broken away, showing another form of,` portable stand within the scope 'of ourinvention, and Figs. 9, 10 and `11 are viewsjillustrating within ythe scope Vof is the development ofa goods display structure designed especiallyor the displayof muffe vor 4'similar articles which, may be coning arms or spokes.

In Fig. 1 we Vhave illustrated a goods display structure embodying our invention in which l maywrep'resent a suitable glasswalled cabinet of any usualtype, having tracks 2 in lthe topy of the vsame arranged to support a-suitable carriage 3, from which vmay be hung ahdepending support 4. By

preference this support is made up of an outer tubular member l5, having ballbear-` ing connection with a central tube or rod 6, suspended from the carriage and held thereto by nuts 7; onel ballb'earing 8, being adjacent the, carriage while the other ballbearing, indicatedl at 8a may be carried by sition by means of a set screw 9a. throughout the veniently suspended' fromradially project- "the lower end of fthev rod 6. The upper end f In the form of structure shown in Fig. l i.

the 'outer tubular member 5 of the depending` support is free to'rotate on the ballbearingsv and it may carry, disposedpre'ferf ably atdenite intervals'. collars 10 to'which are attached in any suit? manner' rods 117 forming the spokes or supportingarms tor muffe or other articles of merchandise. In the present instance the rods are shown as being screwed into the collars. It will be understood, of course, that the outer ends of these arms may be provided with annular rails from which various forms of garments may be hung, and that they may serve as; supporting means for shelves. If desired these arms may be telescopic and reference is made hereinafter to forms of telescopic arms suitable for the desired purpose.

In the form of structure illustrated in Fig. 2, a support 4a is shoivn as mounted on a carriage 3 which may be adapted to tracks 2a in the base of a display cabinet or casing. In this instance, a central shaft or rod 6 may be fixed to the carriage in a suitable manner and is provided with a conical bearing point 12 at its upper end adapted to engage a bearing block 13 carried in the head of the tubular member 5a which encircles said shaft or rod 6a. This provides a point bearing upon Which the tube and the arms supported thereby, may rotate. If desired, the lower end of the rod may be provided with a guide bearing of any suitable anti-friction type, illustrated at 14, in addition to the bearing 8a.

In lieu of the arrangement shown in Fig. 4,. wherein the fixed standard is provided With a bearing point to engage a bearing block carried by the upper end of the sleeve, these parts may be reversed1 and the vertical rod or standard, suitably supported and which may be in the form of a tube, may carry a bearing block 13a suitably recessed for reception of a bearing point 12'a carried by the upper end of the sleeve; this arrangement being clearly indicated inI Fig. S. IVhile this view illustrates a portable structure it will' be clearly understood that this detail may be applied to the type of structure illustrated in Fig. 2.

It desired. We may provide a structure of the type illustrated in Fig. 7, which is shown as portable, having a suitable base 15, with or Without casters, toivhich a shaft or standard 6b may be secured in any suitable manner In this view ive have shown a built-up structure With various forms of goods-supporting units carried by the central shaft or standard. In building up this structure. a spacer sleeve 5* may be" first applied to th-e shaft 6') and the base may have. a shoulder providing a seat to receive this sleeve. 0n top of the sleeve a suitable ball-bearing collar 8b may be placed. yThis may be of any usual type, having upper and lov'er cones with interposed balls, and an enclosing shell to loosely hold the cones together. If desired this shell may have a depending flange 16 to lit inside thel sleeve section 5b and properly space the same from the central shaft; the cones of the bearing y illustrated at 5b.

having sufficient clearance from the latter to insure easy rotation.

Upon the ball-bearing collar 8b, a sleeve section c may be mounted, having radiallydisposed arms or rods 11a hinged thereto at 17 so as to be foldable against the central shaft when not in use. Upon the sleeve Section 5C, another ball-bearing collar 8b may be mounted of the same type as the one disposed beloiv the sleeve section 5, and upon this may be mounted a co-llar 18 carryingr radially-disposed arms-or rods 11b. In this instance these arms or rods are shown as telescopic and comprise stems 19 threaded into the collar, with slidable sleeves 2O for elongation Within the limit of length ofthe respective parts. In order that the parts may be retained in position When elongated to the desired degree the stem may be provided With. a lug 21 adapted to a slot 22 in the sleeve, and the latter may have notches 23 at intervals to receive such lug upon imparting slight rotative movement to the sleeve.

Upon this collar 18 a plain sleeve section 5b may be placed and if desired a ballbearing collar 8 may be interposed between the saine and the collar 18. rI'his sleeve 5 may be surmounted by a ball-l'earing collar Sb, and upon this may be mounted a sleeve section 5d which may carry near its loiver end sockets for the reception of radially-disposed supporting arms or rods 11, which may be of telescopic type.. In this instance sleeves 20a may be threaded into these sockets; and carry extensible stems 19. These parts may be held in their adjusted positions by providing the stems with lugs 21 adapted to slots 22 in the sleeves and the latter may be notched at 23 to regulate the amount of extension and insure that the eX- tended part will be retained in the adjusted position.

The top of this struct-ure may have an ornamental cap 24 into which the upper end of the central shaft or standard 6 may be threaded and such cap may enclose the upper end of the sleeve section 5d. It Will be understood that supporting means may be b-uilt up of units of any ot' the types illustrated in Fig. '7. and that in addition ball-bearing collars. which may carry any ot the forms ot' arms shown in Fig. 7, may be employed in buildingup a suitable supporting structure by interposing the same between sleeve sections of the spacer type It Will also be understood that While We have shown these units as built upon a central shaft or standard carried by a portable base. they may be applied, inA any desired arrangement, to central standards ot the type of structures illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, Without departing from our invention. A ball-bearing Collar 8d carrying supporting arms or rods is shown in Fig. 9, and in Figs. l0 and 11, I have shown detached perspective views of the telescoping supporting arms which We may employ. An important feature of the built up structures is the fact that the size can be determined very readily to meet special conditions and with the sectional tubular units We may employ a sectional shaft or standard. As shown in Fig. T, the several sections may be securedtoget-her by threaded nipples 24a.

The collars 10 and 10a shown in Figs. 1 and 2, may be adjustable With'respect to the supporting rod or standard, and they are preferably held in their adjusted positions by means of set screws 29. If desired, the outer sleeve 5, shown in Figs. l and 3, may be provided with internal spacing shoulders, or projections 80, as indicated in Fig. 3.

It will be. understood, of course, that the sectional structure Vshown in Fig. 7, may be inverted and suspended from a fixed-point, or from a movable carriage such as illustrated in Fig. l, and that as many sections as may be desired, of any of the forms illustrated in Fig. 7, may be employed.

lt'ivill be understood, of course, that any of the forms we have illustrated as being suspended may be reversed Without changing the character or operative arrangement of the structure, and that any of the forms shown as being mounted upon a vertical standard supported from the floor, may be inverted Without changing the construction or altering the operative arrangements of the parts, andV hung from a fixed point, or from a movable carriage, which latter may be mounted with reference to a track Within or outside a cabinet or casing; all of which is deemed to be Within the scope of our invention.

We claim:

The combination, in a goods display lixture, of an enclosing cabinet, a movable carriage disposed therein, a track-Way for said carriage mounted Within said cabinet, an elongated standard supportedbysaid carriage and movable therewith, a ball-bearing collar loosely mounted at the lower end of said standard, a removable sleeve surrounding said standard and rotatableon said ball-bearing collar, a series oi' independent' vertically movable collars adjustably secured to said rotatable sleeve, and a series of upwardly-inclined goods-supporting arms carried by each oi' said independent `collars and radially disposed with respect thereto; said arms being made in sections telescopically arranged with respect to each other.

In Witness whereof We have signed this specification.

JOHN E. TALLEY. J. W. THoMPsoN. 

